Traditionally, history has been taught in chronological order in great detail with huge, intimidating textbooks. I don’t know about you, but when I learned history this way, I was overwhelmed by the details. Just looking at the textbook discouraged me, and I had a hard time keeping everything that happened in order.
Trying to learn too many historical details can feel like a dump trunk unloading a disorganized mess into your brain all at once!
I felt like a million facts had just been dumped in my head with no clear organization. I found this approach plodding, tedious, and overwhelming.
In case you don’t recognize these, they are “random dates”!
As an example, I found it difficult to learn exact dates for historical events. They felt like a bunch of swirling numbers that I couldn’t keep straight. I was awash in random dates!
Another method for teaching history, especially for elementary students, is to teach about just one or two civilizations in detail, such as the Egyptians or Greeks. This is often more fun and lessens the confusion, but context is lost, and the student ends up with many gaps in their overall understanding of history. They miss the connections and sequences; in other words, they don’t learn to see the big picture.
Are there gaps in what you learned about history?
Like many students, did you learn all about the Egyptians, but totally miss the Persians?
I am proposing a third way: LAYERING.
I propose learning history in layers and getting the big picture first. Then add on as many layers of details as you want.
Start with a simple foundation that covers all of history in a very basic outline, and then build up levels of details, a few at a time. This is like learning to count to ten before you can understand 3.97. It gives students the big picture first and then allows them to add more detail a little at a time. This approach provides more context and is less overwhelming.
In order to teach history in this layered way, I have created the first two layers. For World History I have selected one significant event for each century (or 500-year period during ancient times).
I have pared history down to a core.
I call these 33 events “core events.” For U.S. History the succession of 45 presidents serves as the first layer. The student learns these core events or the presidents in order. But don’t panic! This approach does not use rote memorization! Rather, it uses brain-friendly techniques. (See below.)
Once learned, this primary sequence provides an outline, a big picture – like a blueprint for a building.
My approach provides the first layer by drawing the big picture.
For the second layer I have chosen 3 – 5 events to layer on top of each original core event or president. Now the student knows 4 events per century or 3-5 events per presidency. This is like building the actual foundation of the building. When you go to add more levels later, you now have a strong, underlying structure to hold them up.
Learning the first two layers I am providing builds a strong foundation for future knowledge
Remembering is the basis of all other learning, but it doesn’t have to be tedious!
This approach of first remembering basic information is in line with the foundational level of Bloom’s Taxonomy. It is assumed that the student will then use this knowledge to move up to the higher levels. Historically, students have worked to remember dates by the unpleasant method of rote memorization. In an eagerness to avoid this tedious task, remembering has often been neglected – to the detriment of the higher levels.
As an example of higher level learning made possible by this approach: my students began to understand the links between different events and time periods. By just focusing on which century historical events happened in rather than the exact year, they could learn the correct sequence of major events and periods. This helped them to focus on the connections from century to century. The simplification also allowed the students to focus on important social studies vocabulary. In the same way that a preschool child learns, my elementary students were able to systematically add more layers of content and with that knowledge, confidently begin to work their way up Bloom’s Taxonomy.
As I said above, my approach uses a combination of brain-friendly memory techniques instead of rote memorization. I arrived at some of these memory concepts after studying Quantum Memory Powerby Dominic O’Brien, a world memory champion.
I am proposing techniques to take advantage of how our brains remember.
Use a journey you know to learn the journey of history you want to know.
From him I learned the Journey Technique which I found was a perfect fit for what I was trying to do with history; hence the title: “Journey Through History.” Using this technique you start with a familiar path that you already know. Then you use associations to connect the new information you are trying to learn to the sequence of places you already know. This technique makes learning a basic chronology of history so easy!
My approach uses mnemonics which in this case are words in which each letter stands for a separate event in history.
After I learned one event for each century using the Journey Technique, I realized I could add more with the help of mnemonics, another memory aid. To do this, I created words in which each letter stands for a separate event in history. In World History all of the mnemonics are 4 – letter words representing 4 significant events for that time period. The core event is represented by the first letter in the word. In U.S. History they are 3 – 5 letter words for each presidency which help the learner remember 3 – 5 significant events that happened during each president’s time in office.
Less is…
…more!
To further help students stay focused on the basics, descriptions of events are condensed into short, usually one page, summaries. This keeps the learner from being overwhelmed with too much information, and thus better able to remember the essentials. This “Less is more” approach allows students to really focus on what is important and have time to make connections and review. The curriculum is about building a strong foundation. More can be added later.
Instead of dumping a load of facts on students, it’s important to help them first create a mental filing system.
As a bonus, I discovered that organizing information by century or presidency created a mental filing system. When I learned new things about history, I now had a place to “file” the new information. I had an organized system in my mind for where to put new facts. This has made it much easier for me to not only learn more history, but also to see connections and consequences.
As I learned more about how memory works from reading Mapping Inner Space Learning by Nancy Margulies, I added MindMaps, which are similar to collages. These visual components include both pictures and symbols. The pictures in the collages, all taken from Microsoft Creative Commons, are intended to put words into images, to help the student imagine the history coming to life, and to provide symbolic connections. For example: in US History, the symbol of a red bar with 4 stars represents a president who was also a general. And different colored borders are used to represent different political parties, so the presidents are essentially color-coded for easy comparison.
Images reach a different part of our brain than words do.
In World History, a red dragon is used to represent China, and a jar of Tang powdered drink (see bottom right area of collage below) is placed next to the Tang Dynasty. This is not a commentary on the dynasty, but rather just a means to take advantage of how our minds work literally, matching the sounds. The borders of the World History visual collages change over time in a rainbow order making it easier to keep up with the progression of time.
Homophones can be useful memory aids.
I have developed a process for learning history that has four steps.
By the time I was done, I had developed a process with four steps. That is what I am sharing with you today.
So why use this method?
Wondering why? There are so many reasons to try!
Because this combination of simplified information and memory techniques provides an active, fun, creative, organized, visual, easy, and effective way to build a strong foundation for learning history.
First, it’s active. You periodically walk around following your journey, and each week you act out or imagine historical events. So there’s a lot of “doing” not just reading and listening.
Have fun being creative and imaginative!
Second, this process is fun and creative because you get to make imaginative associations at each “stop” along the journey. It gives you an opportunity to be playful and silly. The connections and symbols are your choice, so they are more personalized and meaningful, and therefore, more memorable.
My approach creates a mental filing system to organize historical facts.
Third, this approach creates organization. It helps the student build a mental filing cabinet to keep historical sequences straight. Learning core events or presidents in order may sound like tedious rote memorization, but it’s not because the Journey Technique makes learning facts in order both easy and fun.
And learning the presidents in order is not just a cute parlor trick because the sequence provides a structure and a way to organize additional facts. When new information is
Instead of dumping a load of facts on students, it’s important to help them first create a mental filing system.
introduced, the student can mentally attach it to one of the 33 core events or 45 presidencies – whichever one was in the same time period. This is similar to learning the alphabet in order and then using the letters to create an alphabetized list of files. Now a learner can mentally “file” new information in a meaningful, logical place.
Words can help us remember a combination of events.
Further organization is provided by mnemonics, in this case words in which each letter stands for an event.
The fourth reason for using this curriculum is the visual and symbolic component. The pictures in the collages put words into images and provide symbolic connections. The different colors which are used carry meaning as well. All of these non-verbal pathways reach a different part of our brain.
Images and symbols reach different areas of our brains than just words.
My combined techniques work!
Finally, you should use these techniques because they are easy and effective! The steps have been tested and refined with individual students and with classes in school. They are appropriate for upper elementary (grades 4 – 6) students all the way to adults. The responses I have had have been overwhelmingly positive. My students have not only learned many facts, but they have also grown in confidence and have learned to make connections between different events. Having a broad basis of knowledge has helped my students be able to compare and contrast different presidents and time periods, and it has given them a basis for critical thinking. I hope you will try these steps for yourself and see how fun and easy it is to learn history. Enjoy!
Steps in Brief: 1. Create a JOURNEY: Map out a familiar journey of 33 or 45 “stops” or “stations”: one for each period of World History or one for each U.S. president. Examples and suggestions are provided. 2. Learn a group in ORDER: Walk along the first 5 – 8 stops of your journey and make associations at each one between that place and the corresponding event or president. In this way you will learn a group of 5 – 7 core events for World History or a group of 8 presidents at a time in order. 3. Learn the matching MNEMONICS: Walk your journey again – this time associating each “stop” with the mnemonic for each of those 5 – 8 time periods or presidents. (This step can be done separately or it can be combined with the second step where you learn the order and mnemonics together.) 4. Learn the matching EVENTS: Walk your journey again, but now spend a longer time at each “stop” in order to read about and imagine the 3 – 5 main events for each period of history happening in that location. These events are represented by each mnemonic. 5. REVIEW: Review everything you have learned so far by re-walking to each stop you have completed. You may do this mentally as well. 6. REPEAT: Go through Steps 2 – 5 again for the next group of 5 – 8 core events or presidents, until you have learned all of them in order and the major events for each period or presidency. By the end you will know 132 facts in order for World History or 194 facts for U.S. History! This will give you a strong foundation on which to build further knowledge.
U.S. History before the presidents will need to be learned through other methods. Fortunately, the 45 presidencies cover most of our history.
Some notes on teaching U.S. History: U.S. history before the presidents will need to be learned separately. I spent first quarter covering: Native Americans from 6 main regions, European explorers, Colonial Times, and the American Revolution. I taught that quarter in a fairly traditional manner, but I added mini-projects and Mind Maps (which are like visual collages)(See Bibliography).
Second through fourth quarter I used the Journey Method as presented here. Second quarter we covered the first 16 presidents. Third quarter we covered presidents 17 – 32. Fourth quarter we covered presidents 33 – 45 and had time to review.
Willing to try? Then I invite you to get started. Go to the “Step 1: Creating a Journey” page to get started.
You might also want to visit several miscellaneous pages:
the foundational level of historical events happened in rather than the exact year, they could learn the correct sequence of major events and periods. This helped them to focus on the connections from century to century. The simplification also allowed the students to focus on important social studies vocabulary. In the same way that a preschool child learns, my elementary students were able to systematically add more layers of content and with that knowledge, confidently begin to work their way up Bloom’s Taxonomy.
